Tenedos: The Necropolis

The small island of Tenedos, located on the mouth of the Dardanelles Strait (Hellespontus) just west of the coastline of ancient Troy in the northeast Aegean Sea (39° 49′ 59″ North and 26° 4′ 2″ East), was geographically very important during the Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic periods. The major center of population was located on the island’s easternmost point, facing the mouth of the Dardanelles Strait. Tenedos presented suitable harboring facilities for all merchant ships coming from the Aegean bound for the ports of cities located on the shores of the Sea of Marmara (Propontis) and into the Black Sea (Pontus Euxinus) when the wind and current conditions permitted a safe passage through the Dardanelles during these periods. Tenedos is mentioned four times by Homer in his great epics (Iliad I.38, 452, X1.625, XIII.33; Odyssey III.l59), including the beginning lines of the Iliad where Tenedos is counted among the cult places of Apollo Smintheus. Herodotus mentions an Aeolian town on Tenedos (I.151). The past rescue excavations conducted at the necropolis in the 1960s and early 1990s uncovered nearly one hundred burials and over one thousand diagnostic archaeological objects with dates ranging from the mid-8th century to the 2nd century BC.

This grant will lead to the final publication of the results of these past rescue excavations conducted in the necropolis of Tenedos. The volume will be entitled “Tenedos: The Necropolis.” With the contribution of various specialists, this monograph will present information on the diachronic use of necropolis, types of burials and their associated finds, mortuary behaviors, and analysis of the archaeological evidence from the necropolis in the context of regional Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic developments.

The publication project for a monograph will be directed by Prof. Turan Takaoğlu.

Please click on the images below for larger and expandable views

aerial_view — Aerial view of the island from the east showing the location of modern town under which the remains of the ancient city of Tenedos is located.

necropolis_aerial — Aerial view of the part of the necropolis excavated in the 1960s and early 1990s on Tenedos

local_gray_wares — An old photo of local gray wares from Archaic graves dating from late-8th to mid-6th centuries BC (Photo scanned from excavation slides of 1990 rescue excavations)

korinthian_pottery_and_others — An old photo of import Archaic ceramics from Corinth, as well as one example of Ionian bowl (top left) and local two-handled jug of local origin (top right) (Photo scanned from excavation slides of 1990 rescue excavations)

bronze_objects — An old photo of metal finds from an Archaic grave in the Tenedian necropolis (Photo scanned from excavation slides of 1991 rescue excavations)